Silence Is Not Good Enough

Silence Is Not Good Enough
SINGE
8 November 2006

Singe is one of the easy English words that we don't hear to often.

If you are not familiar with this word, dictionary.com defines it as follows:

singe Pronunciation (snj)
tr.v. singed, singe•ing, sing•es
1. To burn superficially; scorch.
2. To burn off the feathers or bristles of (a carcass of a bird or animal) by subjecting briefly to flame.
3. To burn the ends of (hair, for example).
4. To burn the nap from (cloth) in manufacturing.
n.
A slight or surface burn; a scorch.

Now, when I think of the word singe, I always think about this fairly upscale party I attended in the Washington, DC area back in the mid-70's.

Just as the party was getting under way, I noticed this extraordinarily attractive woman with long blonde hair.  

Out of nowhere, I noticed that her long hair had dipped too closely to one of the holiday candles.

With the smell of her hair being singed just starting to waft through the air, I immediately put down my drink an instinctively went to put out the fire in her hair.

Others, too, noticed and jumped in to make sure that the fire was out.  

Once the fire was out, she immediately left the party.  

As she was leaving she thanked each of the persons who had followed me in putting out the fire.

Interestingly, she thanked everyone but me.

Now, guarantee of a thank you certainly isn't necessary to have before putting out a fire.   However, the human in me wonders how I would react were I to see her hair on fire again or notice her in some similarly challenging situation.

By the way: It wasn't as if I weren't noticeable:   She faced me as I put out the fire in her hair on the back of her head and the side of her sleeveless arm.

Object Lesson:   If someone puts out a fire for you, make sure that your silence doesn't cause them to walk away during any future emergencies you may experience.   Though most of us would like to believe that we'd put the fire out again and again and again – with or without the benefit of a thank you, for an unknown group of us, Silence Is Not Good E nough.

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Thanks!
Vincent Wright
Chief Encouragement Officer
www.VincentWright.com |
www.MyLinkedinPowerForum.com | www.LinkedinBusinessDiscussionIndex.com |
"Encouraging Linkedin Users"

The LOLLITA Factor: Lots Of Linkedin Likability Is The Answer

A Meditation On Likability
By
Vincent Wright
7 Nov 2006

It's not quantity.

It's not quality.

It's LIKABILITY!!

We like what we like.

And we remember what we like.

If someone likes you, they are likely to remember you when it's time to share benefits, awards, rewards, etc.

Likewise, if someone doesn't like you, no matter how likely you are to be able to help them, they're not likely to share their prosperity with someone like you.

Your success with a given person, company, community, or culture boils down to whether or not you're likable to them.

Millionaires divorce every day.  So, it's not money that matters.  (Think Donald Trump.)

Beautiful people divorce every day.  So, it's not looks that matter.  (Think Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovetts.  Think Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z.   Think Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and Camilla Parker-Bowles.)

Intelligent people divorce every day.  So, it's not intelligence that matters.   (Stephen Hawkins is pretty smart.  He's divorcing.)

The list of separate items could go on and on and on.  

But the bottom line is this:   If someone likes you, they'll remember you.   So, if you want them to remember you, your job is to get them to like you.   And you'll never know what they like by guessing what they like.  You have to observe, you have to ask, you have to learn.   Period.

Are you likable to the people you like?

Do you know how to be likable - WITH A BACKBONE?   (I.e., character, principles, self-confidence...)

--
Thanks!
Vincent Wright
Chief Encouragement Officer
www.VincentWright.com |
www.MyLinkedinPowerForum.com | www.LinkedinBusinessDiscussionIndex.com |
"Encouraging Linkedin Users"